


The Watch, The Hat and The Fiddle

by SelfEE



Category: Little House on the Prairie (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:54:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27983382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SelfEE/pseuds/SelfEE
Summary: Story takes place in 1902 on Rocky Ridge Farm. After Charles Ingalls' death, Almanzo and Laura receive an small inheritance left to him and Laura. A one shot. Story complete in one chapter.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 1





	The Watch, The Hat and The Fiddle

The Watch, the Hat and the Fiddle

Almanzo was upstairs in their room at Rocky Ridge as the clock on the mantle downstairs chimed three. He was watching Beth sleep as usual. He was a little reluctant to get out this morning to do the chores and even more reluctant to wake up Beth. He knew that Adam had sent out that package from their new makeshift office in Sleepy Eye about a week ago. Adam called Almanzo on the telephone and made him promise not to tell Laura about what he was sending. It was to be a surprise.  


Almanzo remembered when Charles had called them all together that last night in Burr Oak, the night before they traveled onward to the Land of the Big Red Apple. He and Caroline had spoken about what gifts would go where. It was decided that Charles would read those items from a written list. Mary and Adam were still in New York and couldn’t make it, but they had already known what Charles had wanted. He had urged Charles to write the letter and send it to him and they’d take care of the rest. Later on, Adam attached the letter to Charles’s list of items. 

Caroline, as the executor, was left to carry out Charles’s wishes. Whatever was left would be split up and shared among the entire clan, that is except for three things; Pa’s pocket watch, hat and fiddle and they would go to Charles’s personal choice, namely, Almanzo and Laura. 

Almanzo smiled as he looked down at Laura’s face. At thirty five, his wife was still vibrant and beautiful. He was forty five, but she made him feel so much younger. He would never stop loving her, could never stop. Without her by his side, he didn’t know where he’d be. 

He lay down on the bed and stretched out next to her. 

“I love you, Beth,” he whispered in her ear and fell asleep cuddled next to her.

XXXXXXXXXXX

They were both up early, watching the sun come up as usual, with their arms around each other. They were reminiscing over breakfast when the doorbell rang with a special delivery, which Almanzo needed to sign for. Package delivery from the Post Office was something new to farms in rural areas and it was something he’d have to get used to. 

“Let’s open it up, Manly,” Laura said, as she stared at the box. “I keep hearing about an envelope that Adam stuck inside.” 

“Well, that’s the surprise. Adam won’t tell me what the letter’s about,”Almanzo said. “All he keeps telling me is that your Pa wrote it himself and sent it to Adam in New York along with the list.” 

“Well then,” Laura said, smiling, “What are we waiting for?”

Almanzo smiled and pulled out his pen knife. He pried open the staples and spread open the box. Inside were all four items; the hat, the pocket watch and the fiddle. Underneath it all was the envelope which Almanzo rummaged around to find.

“Open it,” Laura urged him. “Read it first, and then we’ll get the other stuff.”

Almanzo looked at her and smiled.

“My dear son and…..” he stopped at the word “son.”

Laura watched him as he tried to read the rest of it.

“Manly?” she called out as he picked his head up. He looked at her, his eyes welled up with tears. “Are you alright?”  
Almanzo tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. He handed the letter to Laura and he ran out of the room.  
Laura watched him go, and then looked down at the letter. When she was finished, she put the letter on the dining room table and followed his lead. 

XXXXXXXXXXX

The letter was dated June 5, 1902

_My dear son and daughter, ___

____

____

_You cannot begin to know what a joy it was to see the two of you here visiting with Caroline and me. I especially loved spending time with my bright and beautiful granddaughter. Rose is a grown up little lady now and the two of you have raised her well. Everyone she meets is fascinated with her, including her grandma and grandpa. It is also good to hear that you have put the days of shadow behind you and may days of sunshine follow you all the days of your lives. We only wish the best for all of you and that we will continue to hear how happy, secure and successful you are at your new farm in Mansfield, Missouri. ___

____

____

_I couldn’t be any prouder of my family as I am of the two of you. ___

____

____

_Almanzo, you are the son I never had and always wanted. You have proven yourself over and over again. You and Laura have stuck by us when we needed you the most. My love and trust have continued to grow. I have never seen one man work as hard as you have. Now I understand my daughter’s devotion to you. ___

____

____

_And so, while it isn’t much, I leave to you my most prized possessions. You already know what they are, but Adam wanted me to include them here, so I have. ___

____

____

_Almanzo, I hereby bequeath my father’s pocket watch and my favorite white hat with the leather band that you always admired. Stand tall and if you wear it, wear it proudly. ___

____

____

_Laura, to you I leave my fiddle. I know that you will find a special place for it where you can look up and see it. I hope that it reminds you of the times that you, Mary and Carrie danced together whenever I played it for you. ___

____

____

_To Rose I leave a beautiful quilt that mother made. It has never been used. I hope that you use it well._

____

____

_Please accept these gifts in the spirit that they are given and know that we love you and miss you. ___

____

____

It was signed by Charles Ingalls. 

_P.S. Don’t ever worry about Adam and Mary. They have been taken care of as has the rest of the Ingalls family. ___

____

____

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Almanzo sat on the steps of the back porch that led out to the back yard. 

He surveyed the farm from this vantage point, remembering all the hard work that he and Beth put in to make Rocky Ridge successful. He was grateful to Laura for her strength, dedication and determination to keep this farm running. Beth always saw the way things could be if they just put their mind and hearts to it. It was one of the things he loved about her. And he had to admit that it all worked out.

Almanzo was lucky to have his beautiful Beth by his side through it all. He always knew that she was special and that she was one of a kind. 

The relationship with her parents, especially her father, was another story. Charles Ingalls had given him a hard time from the start. Charles never felt comfortable with Almanzo courting his daughter, right up until he married her, although by that time, Charles’s attitude softened somewhat.

At least that’s how it felt, until they arrived in Sleepy Eye to tell Charles and Caroline that the engagement was back on. When Charles and Hester Sue spoke of getting the Reverend to marry them, he knew he had been accepted. And as time passed by, Charles was impressed by Almanzo’s skills and work ethic. Almanzo knew a little about everything. He was smart, polite and helpful. He had his faults, but come on, didn’t everybody?

And he could be a big help to Charles and what’s more was that Caroline had agreed with him. There was nothing Almanzo couldn’t do. 

That’s what Beth had told him anyway.

Still, the letter had taken him by surprise. Almanzo had known from the beginning that Charles always wanted a son. But shouldn’t that have been Adam? Didn’t he leave anything for him and Mary?

Charles and Adam were in two different worlds. Adam was a teacher and a lawyer. He wasn’t a farmer, a woodworker or a handyman, not like Almanzo. Adam wasn’t there every day to help Charles fix holes in the barn roof or run a freight business together. 

It didn’t mean that Charles loved Adam any less, but, for some reason, he felt a lot closer to Almanzo. The two had so much in common and they got on well. 

“Manly?” he heard Laura’s voice calling in the background. “Manly?”

“I’m out here, darlin’,” he said, as her voice got closer. He wiped the tears from his eyes, stood up and turned around to face the porch.

Almanzo was ready for her. He watched as Laura flew out of the back porch door; her arms outstretched wide to welcome him inside of them.

“Pa loved you, Manly. Once he got to know you, there was no stopping him. I have never seen two men work as closely as the two of you had. The freight business, the two of you rescuing our Christmas presents from the barn that last Christmas in Walnut Grove, asking for his advice, helping you build a house, helping you to walk again…”

“Punching me in the mouth,” Almanzo said, smiling through his tears. 

“Almanzo Wilder, is that all you think about?” They both laughed and hugged each other. 

“I always wanted his acceptance, his approval. I always respected him, looked up to him and I always loved him. I want you to know that, Beth. And I am happy and proud to know that he did accept me, that he considered me his son and loved me in return.”

“And because you take such good care of his daughter,” Laura said, smiling, wiping his tears away with her thumb. She took him in her arms again. “Oh, Manly, I love you.”

He smiled back. “I love you too, Beth.”

She brushed his tears away from his eyes and Manly drew her closer.

“Beth,” he whispered in her ear, “My Beth.”

“You’ve got to stop all this crying, Mr. Wilder. You’re getting my dress all wet.”

Almanzo smiled and started to laugh. He released her and they smiled at each other.

“You are somethin’ else,” Mrs. Wilder.”

“Someday, you’ll have to tell me what you think I am,” she said, looking into his eyes. “Come on, let’s finish unloading that box. I really want to see what you look like in that hat.”

Almanzo shook his head and smiled. “That’s not what I thought you’d say.”

Laura smiled and looked at him. “What did you think I’d say?”

“I guess something like ‘I’m going to need a place for my Pa’s fiddle?’”

“Well, I’m going to need that too,” Laura said, “but you can do that while you’re wearing Pa’s hat.”

And she grabbed his hand and pulled him inside, the two of them laughing. 

Author’s Note:

This story was inspired by a piece that Rose Wilder Lane wrote called “Grandpa’s Fiddle, Parts 1 and 2.” It can be found in the book “A Little House Sampler.” I recommend this book highly especially if you’re a Little House fan.


End file.
